Ambri's Life
by JuliaBeth
Summary: Chapter two up. The Fairy Tale Ends. My first aattempt at a Rocky fic, if I get good reviews, then I'll continue. SO please, R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. School Days

Rocky Balboa stood, back to the wall of the intimadating brick building, waiting for who he claimed was his heart and soul to come out.  
  
With his black jacket collar turned up, hat slanted to just the right angle, and black gloved hands bouncing a rubber ball, he was an intimadating presence himself.  
  
A group of women were gathered up to his left. He could hear snatches of thier whispered conversation and knew they were talking about him.  
  
"Ain't right..." and "...not fit..." He tried to tel himself that it didn't matter, but it did. If not for his sake, then for hers. Nosey old hags. What do they know anyways, huh? Nothing.  
  
"Rocky!" He was pulled from his thoughts by her sweet voice. He looked down at her and smiled.  
  
Black hair braided into pigtails, creamy smooth skin, big innocent brown eyes hidden behind blue wire rim glass that had cost too much, but had also made her happy, a cute little nose, and pink rose bud lips that were quick to smile. He knew that one day, he was going to be chasing boys off with a stick, cause she was going to be a real knockout. But at 6 years-old, she was happy just being Brother's little girl.  
  
"Hey, Ambri." He stuffed the ball in his pocket, then swung her up in his strong arms to kiss her soft cheek and hold her tight for a moment before setting her back down. "Ready to go?"  
  
She nodded and slipped her small hand into his large one. "Yep. Can we go see Miss Adrian at the pet shop?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," he agreed. Ambrianna wanting to look at the animals would be a good excuse to stop by and see Adrian today, since he already had enough fish and turtle food to last until the end of time. He took the tiny, at least in his hands, pink booksack from her shoulders. FIlled with the books she was determined to learn to read, papers for him to sign and return and Lolly, the rag doll she refuses to be away from, even to go to school, it was one her most favorite things. It was also heavy to her little arms and he knew it.  
  
"Wait, Brother, wait!" She stopped him just outside the schoolyard. "I want my Lolly. She's crying for me."  
  
He opened the backpack and pulled the doll out. She took it and hugged it close to her chest, then slipped one hand back into his grasp and held Lolly with the other. "Now I ready," she declared.  
  
He laughed and ruffled her hair before leading her down the dirty street towards the pet shop and eventually home. 


	2. Not many cares in the world Yet!

Author's note: This chapter and the rest are set in Rocky Five and later, but there will be flashback scenes to things she is remembering. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hey, Aunt Sleepyhead, wake up!"  
  
19- year-old Ambrianna was awaken by her 13 year-old nephew, Rocky Jr, or Robert as he now perferred to be called, jumping on her bed. She took her time about opening her eyes and looking at him. "What do you want, RJ?"  
  
"Did you forget what happens this morning?" he asked, impatiently, then realized what she had called him. "And don't call me RJ. MY name is Robert."  
  
"Your name," she corrected, yawning. "Is Rocky Jr. I was there when you were named. Rocky said you didn't have a name, and Paulie said that Paulie was a good name, and Rocky agreed but Adrian smiled and said how about after his father. Therefore, your name is Rocky Jr. RJ. And speaking of those three, they come home this morning. But not until 11:30. It's only," she looked at her bedside clock. "5:30. 5:30!! Boy, get out of here and go back to bed." She pulled the blanket up over her head. "Shut my door on your way out."  
  
When he didn't move, she sighed and pulled the blanket down again. "Yes?"  
  
"You know how it's been almost a year since we saw Dad and Uncle Paulie and almost that long since Mom was here?" He looked worried.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well, what if we've grown up so much they don't recognize us?"  
  
She laughed. "They'll recognize us. I'm sure Rocky'll be punchy for a few days, like he is after any big fight, but, he'd never be so punchy he wouldn't know us. Here, lay down."  
  
He crawled under the blankets and snuggled up against her, even though he would have died from embrassment if anyone else knew where he was.  
  
Ambri put her arms around his shoulders and kissed his temple. Just like she had been Rocky's heart and soul RJ was her heart and soul. "Everything's going to be just fine, you'll see."  
  
"Yeah, you're right," he agreed. "What time is it now?"  
  
"5:35."  
  
"5:35," he laughed. "I really am a dork, ain't I?"  
  
"Nah you're just excited about seeing the folks. I am too. I'm just tired. I got in late last night. Besides, you're a nerd, not a dork."  
  
"Thanks a lot, Aunt Ambri," he snorted. "Did you tell lover-boy that you'll have to start coming home earlier, now that Dad's going to be home? Dad won't stand anymore of your three and four a.m. appearances. OR all those love-bites on your neck."  
  
Her hand flew up to cover her neck. She was going to kill Damien. She had told him not to leave any marks. They had to go to a press conference after Rocky's plane landed! "Boy, please!! I'm nineteen!! I can whatever I want. I'm an adult now."  
  
"Yeah," he snickered. "We'll see about that when Dad gets home. I can't wait for him to see them. Or better yet, for him to meet Damien." 


	3. Not so Perfect World

Rocky stepped out of the plane, his eyes scanning the crowd. "Adrian, where are the kids? I don't see the kids."  
  
"Keep looking," she replied. "They're here somewhere, I'm sure."  
  
Ambri and RJ were being sheilded from the press by airport security as they walked through the airport. They had been detianed inside until the plane had safely landed and now niether one could wait to get outside.  
  
As soon as they were out of the doors Robert broke away from security and ran to his parents. Ambri lagged behind, trying to manage a lady-like gait in skirt and high heels. Dresses definitely weren't her thing and she despised the heels, but today was special, so she had to suffer.  
  
Her attempts to be lady-like failed her, though, when Rocky let go of Robert and opened his arms to her. Being just a few steps away, she threw herself into them and hugged him tightly. "I missed you, Brother."  
  
"I missed you, too," he replied, swinging her around as he had done Robert. "Let me look at you." He held her out at arms length. "Oh, you're beautiful, you're beautiful. Did you get taller?"  
  
"It's the shoes," she laughed, holding out a lean, tanned leg to show off her shoes with thier three inch heels.  
  
"Hey, nice shoes," he commented before pulling her close and kissing her forehead. He slid his arm around her shoulder as they were ushered inside to the press conference. At the first camera flash, Ambri had to fight the urge to hide her face against Rocky's chest. Apperantly, somewhere between twelve and thirteen that had turned from being viewed as cute, to just plain weird by the press. Not that she had ever done it to be cute. Rocky's instant fame almost 13 years before was something she had found hard to get used to.  
  
Ten minutes later, she was seated beside RJ, listening to Rocky, Paulie, and Adrian answer questions. She nudged him with her foot, then smiled, resisting the urge to make a face at him. The last time she had to sit through one of these conferences, after Rocky had fought Clubber Lang, the press got a great shot of her and RJ making faces at each other. It ended up on the cover of the National Inquirer along with the headlines, "Rocky Balboa Battles His Out Of Control Sister." Please! She had only been trying to make RJ laugh. Of course, the article was only laughed at by the people who knew her, but that didn't keep the people who didn't from staring at her like she was going to rob the Neimen Marcus when she and Adrian went shopping the next week.  
  
"Uh, yeah, I definitely think that Doctors shouldn't fight," Rocky replied to a question about banning boxing.  
  
Before another word could be said though, George Washington Duke, fight promoter, extrodinary came in and up to the front to challenge Rocky to fight Union Kane. Rocky had just beaten the huge Ivan Drago, did that little pipsqueak Kane really think he stood a chance against her brother? Surely not!  
  
Adrian was on her feet in a flash. "My husband is officially retired."  
  
Yeah, right. Adrian had been trying to get Rocky to retire for as long as they had been married, but to no avail. He couldn't just quit. It was in his blood. She was beating her head against a brick wall on that one. Ambri had seven the first time she had heard them argue over it. Rocky had lost his job at the meat packing plant and had told Adrian he was thinking about fighting again. Even though they had thought they were alone in the basement, Ambri had snuck down the first few steps to hear what was going on.  
  
"Ah, ain't nobody going blind, honest," Rocky shrugged. "I see great like a beagle or something."  
  
"Oh Rocky, you gave me your word you wouldn't fight anymore."  
  
"Well, Adrian, I am a fighter, not to good but, that's what I do," he answered.  
  
"If we need the money, I could get a job," she replied.  
  
Ambri was sure she would never forget the look that crossed Rocky face then. It was a look of panic, then defeat, and utter humiliation. She had never seen him look like that in all of her seven years and has never seen it since but it scared her so badly, she raced up the steps and up to her bedroom not to have to see it.  
  
"I just wanted to say that the flight over was really nice," Rocky's voice broke the chaos and brought Ambri's mind back to the present. He spoke to Adrian, then to Robert Jr. and then to Ambri, he said, "Ambrianna, you're really beautiful. You've grown up real good. When our folks died, and you came to live with me, I didn't know how to raise you. I was scared that you, that I would make a mistake and you would end up no better me. But, you, you got a good brian, and class, and can't nobody every take that from you. Our folks I know that they'd be real proud of you, cause I'm real proud of you and I love you."  
  
She grinned at him and whispered, "I love you, too, Rocky."  
  
As quickly as they had been ushered in, they were rushed out to a waiting limo. A few more miles, a few more minutes, and they would be and all this foolishness, like Micky would say, would be over.  
  
That night, Ambri turned down her music, at Rocky's request only to hear Adrian on Paulie's case about something.  
  
She smiled, things were back to normal. She started to slip on her headphones when Adrain's words registered in her brain.  
  
She slowly crept into the hall, half-expecting to run into Rocky coming back to say goodnight. RJ had beaten her to the idea, crouching down in the one spot behind the balcony banister in the one spot where he could see what was going on in the front hall but not be seen from the front hall.  
  
"What's going on?" she whispered, kneeling down and huddling close to him.  
  
"Uncle Paulie screwed up."  
  
That was usual. "How?"  
  
"Something about an attorney."  
  
"What attorney?"  
  
"Dad's, I guess."  
  
She strained to hear more of the shouted, excited, but barely decipheral words. "Not an attorney," she whispered. "Power of attorney. Paulie signed away Rocky's power of attorney. Oh shit."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Means that he gave someone, namely thier accountant, the power to make legal decisions for Rocky and Adrian."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Everything from how his money should be sent, to wheter or not he should remain on life support, God-forbid he ever be on life-support."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yeah, wow."  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"I don't know, Robert, it depends on what all their accountant has done. I just don't know." She hugged him tight. "But don't worry. Rocky'll provide." 


End file.
